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"There is nought for thee but to die, my pretty flower," he whispered to the Sultana, who, sobbing and moaning, accompanied him to the very door of the Seraglio, and there he gently removed her arms from his shoulders and hastened to the council-chamber. Adsalis did not die however, but made her way by the secret staircase to the apartments of the White Prince and found consolation with him.
She endeavoured to explain by way of pantomime, for speaking was impossible, that she was there against her will, and it was her dearest wish to humble herself before the face of the Sultana. It was all of no use. The yells of the wild Bacchantes drowned every sound, and Adsalis did not even condescend to look at her.
What meaneth the firing of cannons that strikes upon my ears?" "Salvoes from the host." "Can they be heard in the Seraglio?" "Yea, and the songs of the singing-girls grow dumb before it." "Conduct me to Adsalis! She must not die. What is the sky to thee if there be no sun in it? What is the whole world to thee if thou dost lose thy beloved? Go on before and tell her that I am coming!"
Adsalis' face turned blood-red with rage at these words, while Gül-Bejáze went as white as a lily, as if the other woman had robbed all her colour from her. There was shame on one side and fury on the other. To tell a haughty dame in the presence of ten, of twenty thousand persons, that another woman is fairer than she!
"Ha! a man! a man!" cried the furious mob; and in an instant they all gazed in that direction and then in a murmur which immediately died away in an awe-struck whisper: "Achmed! Achmed!" Only Adsalis was incapable of pronouncing that name, only her mouth remained gaping open as she gazed upwards.
And when the long manes of thy horse-tail standards flutter before thee on the field of battle, fancy that thou dost see before thee the waving tresses of thy Adsalis who has freed her soul from the incubus of her body in order that it might be able to follow thee."
It is only Achmed's body. Achmed's soul is wandering elsewhere; it is wandering on the bloody field of battle amidst the clash of cold steel. He imagines that those banners, those weapons, those cannons love him more than his poor abandoned, forgotten Adsalis." The salvo of a whole row of cannons was heard in front of the Seraglio. "Hearken how they call to thee!
Adsalis had won his favour by inventing the Feast of Lamps and Tulips, which was renewed every year. This Feast of Palms, moreover, was another new idea, and so also was the idea of the sugar garden. So Achmed, in a transport of enthusiasm, pressed the favourite Sultana to his bosom, and swore solemnly that her dream should be fulfilled, and then sent her back into the harem.
Damad Ibrahim was well aware of the nature of this secret message, and thanked Allah for setting a term to the life of man. Meanwhile Sultan Achmed was sitting in the Hall of Delectation with the beautiful Adsalis by his side, and in front of him were the four tulips which Abdi Pasha had presented to him the day before. The four tulips were now in full bloom.
Remind him through the Kizlar-Aga that he neglect not the pricking of the Koran." "You have spoken a word in season," replied Adsalis, and she immediately sent the Kizlar-Aga into the council-chamber.
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